LEGS: "SORE FOR DAYS" 30 MIN Workout!

Your leg workout doesn’t have to be 2 hours long to be effective.  In fact, I guarantee this 30 minute workout will leave you more sore and help you build more muscle than your last 5 workouts combined! 

But why? Because I know some secret you don’t know?

No, it’s because I utilize my 25+ years’ experience as a personal trainer to deliver high quality workouts that are simple and effective! 

Workout culture has gone soft due to the overwhelming amount of pure GARBAGE “tips” on social media.  But not here and the best part is all you need is a squat rack and a pair of dumbbells! 

Now LET’s GET STAHHHHTED!

For this workout we’re going to utilize a few different muscle building techniques such as HIGH VOLUME and SUPERSETS to bring a massive amount of intensity to your training.  Because remember guys, intensity doesn’t always have to equal “heavy weight”, as intensity is measured by your workload OUTPUT.

Workout Guidelines:

• 4 sets
• 3 exercises
• No rest BETWEEN exercises
• Rest 3 – 5 minutes after each set.

EXERCISE 1: BARBELL SQUAT (10 REPS)

For the barbell squat I want you to work with a weight that you can consistently move up and down with very little rest between reps at the top of the movement.  Pre-tend you have me in your ear as you’re training and I’m telling you to “keep it moving” as you perform your reps. 

This one tip alone will take what you might think is “lighter” weight than what you’re used to working with and make it feel about 10x heavier.  However, this is not a race!  I want you to perform continuous reps for all 10 reps, but not at super sonic speeds.  Go up and down while in full control of the barbell.

Also, go as LOW AS YOU CAN.  Any range of motion you do not train in you will ALWAYS be weak in!  So if you’re having a hard time going deep on your squats, check out this article.  In it I explain various methods to increase your flexibility and squat depth!

DEEP SQUATTING WITH PERFECT FORM!

Once you complete all 10 reps, immediately move to the next exercise without resting!

EXERCISE 2: REVERSE DB LUNGE (8 REPS PER SIDE)

When performing the reverse dumbbell lunge it’s very important to remember that proper form when trying to place more emphasis on your quads consists of stepping back as far as you can while keeping your chest up and a 90 bend in your front knee!

If you find yourself having trouble taking a big step back and remain upright while performing the movement, chances are you’re going too heavy with the dumbbells.  Also, this is not a fast movement. 

Again, stay consistent with the reps but always be in control of the dumbbells and actively try to feel the muscles in your legs contracting throughout each repetition.

Now look at the image below.  The left side is how you should look at the bottom of each rep.  If you look more like the right side, you need to take a moment and re-adjust your form.  This is because when you take more of a shallow step back AND lean forward as you descend you’ll actually be placing more emphasis on your hamstrings & glutes.

Now don’t get me wrong, even with this variant of the movement you’re STILL training your quads.  But if we want to be the most effective with the intended use of this exercise, be sure to perform the movement with your chest up and a 90 bend in your front knee as you step back as far as you can!

EXERCISE 3: DB ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (10 REPS)

For the 3^rd and final exercise in this workout superset you’re going to perform a DB Romanian Deadlift!  Now some of you might use the same dumbbells you had in the previous exercise.  While others may need to go heavier or lighter.  Whatever the case may be, make sure you have a few pairs of dumbbells to choose from!

Be sure when performing this movement you’re not “bending over” to lower the weight.  Remember it’s actually the process of “sitting back” with your hips that will result in it both visually looking like you’re bending over and help you feel an immense STRETCH in your hamstrings.

Guys, this movement ONLY WORKS if you feel a stretch in your hamstrings as this is an eccentric focused exercise.  This means that the load is felt on the way down and the way up isn’t really doing much. 

So, when performing your reps I would like you to go very slow on the way down feeling your hamstrings stretch as much as possible. Pause for a second at the bottom of the movement. Then return to the top at normal pace.

(BONUS) EXERCISE 4: BARBELL CALF RAISE (12 – 15 REPS)

Most of you are probably already extremely fatigued at this point, however it really doesn’t take much more effort to toss in a standing barbell calf raise on the squat rack! Especially since the weight is already set-up!

So if you’ve got some energy left in the tank after you drop your dumbbells, head to the squat rack and get to work!

For this movement, just make sure you’re not speeding through it! Start with your feet flat, fully extending your toes and make sure to hold the flex of your calves for a second or two at the top before going back down.

DO NOT BOUNCE!

Stay in control of the weight the entire time and really feel your calves contracting on each rep!

ONE MORE THING…

While this IS a full leg workout, I do not want you forgetting about your accessory movements.  Mainly, your abductors and adductors.

So if you have some time at the end be sure to hit these machines and if you don’t make sure you do on another day of the week. 

You could even do them at the end of an arm or chest workout. It really doesn’t matter.  Just make sure you hit 3 – 4 sets of 8 – 10 reps of each one!